I am a long-time alumnus of the University of Waterloo Faculty of Arts (BA, 1972). Like so many others in this covid-19 era of isolation at home, I had time on my hands and found myself perusing back issues of your publication Arts & Letters.
In the Fall 2007 issue, I came across an article on the beginnings of the Faculty of Arts at Waterloo. Short profiles were included of five alumni from the first graduating class in 1961. Among those profiled was Clem Bruder (BA, 1961). One sentence jumped out at me from the profile: “In 1963, I went to Kapuskasing and came back to Waterloo during the summers to upgrade my general degree to an honours degree.”
I was one of Mr. Bruder’s students in a Grade 12 history class in Kapuskasing in 1966/67. For one term during that academic year, we were exploring the events leading up to World War II. Mr. Bruder divided the class into two groups (he sorted us by gender, but it was fifty years ago after all). My group, the boys, were to argue that war was the inevitable result of the circumstances at the time; the girls were to argue that there were real alternatives to war.
As a young teacher in the 1960s, Clem Bruder had the initiative, vision, and courage to try an innovative approach to teaching history with a class of skeptical teen-agers in a small northern Ontario town.
Up to that point in my education, history had been a memorized collection of dates, events, and chronological facts. Now Mr. Bruder was challenging us to read with a purpose, to develop an argument, to argue a thesis, to think for ourselves. We had to take ownership of our reading then develop and defend a position. This experience had a profound impact on me.
After graduation from Kapuskasing District High School, I went on to the University of Waterloo (BA, 1972) and later the University of British Columbia (MSW,1976). From there I went to the Yukon, first as a Probation Officer in Watson Lake then eventually as Director of Community Corrections in Whitehorse. I returned to school to develop models of northern practice at the University of Toronto (PhD, 1989). This was followed by 23 years with the University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work. Now retired, I estimate that I taught over 3000 students during my academic career. Following Mr. Bruder’s example, I encouraged students to take responsibility for what they read and how they might use the material to support or challenge their own developing philosophy and models of practice.
As a young teacher in the 1960s, Clem Bruder had the initiative, vision, and courage to try an innovative approach to teaching history with a class of skeptical teen-agers in a small northern Ontario town. Through his impact on me as a student in that classroom over 50 years ago, he indirectly influenced thousands of students across Alberta. His example serves as a reminder to all of us of the potential powerful ripple effect of good teaching.
Thank you, Mr. Bruder.
Kim Zapf
Michael Kim Zapf, PhD.
Professor Emeritus of Social Work
University of Calgary
Our sincere thanks to Professor Zapf for sharing his letter and photos and for permitting us to publish them in Arts & Letters.
Top photo: University of Waterloo convocation with first graduating Arts class, May 27, 1961; Clem Bruder is first on the righthand side. Photo credit: University of Waterloo Library. Special Collections & Archives. Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection. Bottom photos: Michael Kim Zapf now and then, courtesy of Professor Zapf.
